Cats on a hot tin roof
by klylu
Summary: Ben is alive, and sane. He comes back to his sister in TC. Does he get along with his twin? Will his presence interfere or change Max & Alec's relationship? That is readers85 plot bunny, at nunswithpens. MA
1. Brothers in arms

Title: Cats on a hot tin roof

Show: DA  
Pairing: M/A (I can't think of anything else...lol), B/Gem (readers85's idea, who obviously could!)  
Rating: 15

Status: WIP

Genre: angsty romance?  
Summary: that's readers85 plot bunny... and what i was able to do with it. Ben's alive, and sane. He comes back to his sister in TC. Does he get along with his twin? Will his presence interfere/change Max & Alec relationship?

Disclaimer: not mine.

* * *

Chapter 1: Brothers in Arms 

It was unusual to see her sleeping. Unguarded, the emotions of a dream were playing on her face with the pale light of the moon.

She had acknowledged his presence shifting on the mattress while he crouched at the end of the bed, tucking his legs under his chin. Still, she kept on sleeping, and dreaming, undisturbed and comforted by his presence. A gift he wasn't sure to deserve... especially because he knew he had lost the right of her trust long ago. He waited just a few seconds more, soaking up all the courage she was unconsciously giving him just lying there, vulnerable and bare and _trusting_. Then, he quietly whispered into the night.

"I'll need your help, you know that, Maxie?"

* * *

Honestly, Max was too drowsy to fully register the meaning of his words. It was the middle of the night and _for once_, she was actually sleeping. Life wasn't so hectic anymore, and she had finally capitulated to her roomie's insistence (or better, to her personal pain in the ass' pushy-ness). 

"'Cause even if they can't close their eyes, it doesn't mean sharks never sleep, you know?"

Alec, the jerk, had smugly advocated his _duty_, as her SIC, to order her to bed "to refresh their great leader's... bitchy-ness".

Therefore, it really wasn't an exaggerate reaction the shocked look on his face, when she... relented.

Without.A.Single.Hit.

"Oh man... was really _that_ hard to shut him up?", Max muttered while heading towards the apartment she shared with Mr Annoyance, leaving in HQ a few dumbfounded trannies, an open-mouthed, cigarless-due-to-gravity Mole, and Alec, stunned beyond measure and, on the bright side, words too.

So, now she was making the most of a few hours of hard earned sleep – say that forced rest, if anybody asked her – just to be waken up in the middle of the night. Couldn't the aforementioned pain wait till morning to ask questions?

She already knew he was there. But she hadn't bothered to wake up, accustomed to his noises as she was. And really, could a guy take so many showers? And did he have to sing out loud at unlikely hours of the night? Well, seeing Alec, former perfect Manticore product, butchering oldies was... endearing. Not that she would ever admit that... but Max couldn't help the smile in her voice while she shouted "Alec, you tone-deaf freak, shut up, would you?"

Sill, that night something was off. She couldn't pinpoint it, maybe because she was truly worn-out, but a nagging feeling at the pit of her stomach pulled her towards consciousness.

While Max slowly awakened, she focused her senses on the young man in front of her, blending in the shadows. Of course, shadows simply didn't mean anything for transgenic eyes, and he stood there, in plain view, open to her perusal.

His demeanour was relaxed and collected, but his troubled stormy hazel eyes betrayed him. He was searching her face too, looking for the answer to a question he still had to utter.

And the tone of his voice, were regret shaded into hope... A familiar emotion flowed thru Max, mixed with old memories that brought undetected tears into her eyes.

Suddenly, everything fell into place. And nothing was the same again.

"_Ben?_" she barely recognized her own voice, turned into the frail whisper of a lost child.

"_Ben?_" She couldn't blink. Breath. Think. _Believe_. She almost couldn't feel, because the shock had burned her nerve endings like acid.

"Ben" she repeated over again. This time, the anger strained under her sheer pain was totally her own. She could cling to that. It was familiar and comforting... her better weapon against those blinding, numbing feelings he evoked.

Max gathered all her rage and thrown herself at him. But the sheet tangled in her legs and the tears blurring her vision turned her usual cat-like grace leap into a clumsy, uncoordinated dive. She landed hard on his chest, and immediately pummelled him with her fists.

All those years fighting as a human killing machine, and now she was hitting him with the same feeble force of a broken girl.

"_How could you, Ben?_"

* * *

It was the answer he wanted. 

Ben was sprawled on her bed, her shaking body huddled against his in what really looked more like an embrace born out of desperation than anything else.

Sure, she was still hitting him... but she was actually less threatening than an ordinary 5yrs old, and the sobs trashing her, as the accusation muffled in his chest, screamed of her love and her pain.

"How could... how could you let me _believe_...?" "You _left_ _me alone_!"

Ben held her closer at every grief-stricken question. Actually, he knew the answers to all of them... but he had one on his own. How could she still love him after what he had asked her to do?

Because even if he didn't want to admit it (didn't even want to go _there_), in the darkest recess of his soul he had feared to have lost his sister. For good.

And now, he was literally basking in her love.

It could seem just anger and pain, but Ben knew better. He knew that only your loved ones could make you suffer like that, mess up your life till the point you don't recognize it anymore, get you so angry that ever fiber of you body is screaming.

With her little sister still half heartedly hitting him while clinging to him for dear life, like she had no intention of letting him go, _ever_, Ben felt a sudden happiness wash though him... and for the first time in his life the future wasn't scary any more.


	2. Through the looking glass

chapter 2: Through the Looking-Glass

Alec was fast asleep in his bed when the commotion in Max's room awakened him.

Actually, he wasn't a sound sleeper at all... or at least, he used to think so. In his _old_ life, back in Manticore, and in Brian's apartment too, although he felt relatively safe, there was a part of his brain in constant alert, even while he was sleeping. But in the last few months spent sharing a shabby pretence of apartment with Max, he had just discovered the strangest things.

For example... that he was utterly, stupidly in love with the girl.

Second, that every time she was home he slept like the notorious rock. Okay, she _did_ make a lot of noise cuz usually miss Shark was awake, doing something really useful like say, munching _his_ hard stolen snacks, changing her black top with a... black pullover, and such. But strangely, these very noises soothed him like the deepest quiet had never done. Truth was, he knew she had his back. And his subconscious was acutely aware of that too...

About the love thing... well, Alec wasn't _that_ stupid. He already suspected that.

For a long time, he had observed himself and the oddly suicidal course his life had taken since meeting Max, in an almost detached, scientific kinda way. Like it wasn't _his_ the body reacting to hers, or like it wasn't _his_ jealousy for the almighty-ever-loved-against-any-better-judgment Logan poisoning him. Yeah, sure... he could lay the blame of all the stupid and reckless things he did simply to catch her attention, to get her to hit him or yell at him in the weirdest form of acknowledgement, to his evil twin.

Okay... just scratch that. Better, don't even go _there_.

But really, the sensible and keen on survival part of him could shut up that persistent but obviously nuts voice in his head that asked him to do _something _about that. Could drown it in huge amount of alcohol, hot willing bodies, or a rush of adrenaline. Yes, before, he could do that. When he had a life that resembled normalcy, before the siege, before Terminal City.

_Before pretending to be her boyfriend and living with her 24/7._

He was royally screwed up now. Well... at least, he could really use those hours of deserved sleep.

But noooo... she had to ruin his rest too, screaming and fussing around like she was alone in the damn apartment!

And indeed, the few hours spent sleeping peacefully were his last refuge. Cuz... living with Max? Definitely hell.

Every damn second spent together at home after endless hours at HQ planning heists or trying to turn an abandoned, radioactive area into a welcoming, kinda aiming for homey, safe haven for transgenics and transhumans? Yes, hell.

They bickered on everything, from shower time to who was entitled to hold the remote. All right... _he_ had converted her to the boob tube cult, but still. Did she had to curl on the couch every time he was watching TV, sitting so close like a kitten seeking his body heat? and yeah, he _was_ hot! Cuz she walked around the apartment barefoot, wearing tight sweat pants and non-existent tops, all cherry & vanilla scented, throwing him casual, innocent touches that meant anything to her but left burning marks on his skin. She was driving him mad... and then complaining if he took another shower, _again_.

But he couldn't pretend any longer it was just his pent up sexual frustration... _cuz pretended boyfriend didn't cheat, right? _Alec knew there was more. He wanted her... all of her.

All that sensuous, bitchy, intriguing, stubborn and vulnerable package that was _his_ Maxie.

Max, that since that dreadful night confided in him, trusting him with her darkest secrets. Max, that much to Alec dismay, treated him like a... transgenic OC.

Sometimes, in the ever busy TC nights, they stole quiet moments, in their apartment or on the highest roof they could find. They just talked, about their life, their past at Manticore, their deepest fears. Now and then, he could catch half sentences, barely muttered words that hold her fragile hope for the future, timid dreams of a life that _had_ to come. Cuz there, with him, there was the real Max with her own need to be comforted and reassured, and not the fearless leader the others needed.

Those moments always left Alec in awe. He was pretty new at this sharing thing, but he understood that having Max so open and exposed to him was a precious gift to be treasured. Truth was, he sometimes wondered if he had done _anything_ to deserve it.

Still, what was she thinking? Parading around him semi-naked _and_ baring her soul to him? Did the girl have any decency left or...

Wait a sec...

Did he say... _screaming?_

The desperate note in her voice finally reached his sluggish mind and urged him into action. In a blur of motions, that haste and fear made less confident and smooth than usual, he was at her door, ready to face any kind of danger.

But clearly, utterly unprepared to face the scene in front of him.

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Max was on her bed, clinging for dear life to a guy that Alec had never seen before. At once, he realized a few things: the boy was Manticore, he obviously wasn't a threat, and that despite being undoubtedly distraught, Max didn't need to be saved. At all.

Well, _unpleasant_ truth to be told, Alec instinctively knew that she really wanted to be there, in the stranger's loving embrace, and that the pain visibly coursing thru her body was such a small price to pay just to be there.

He knew too he should leave.

That scene was just too intimate and he was intruding. But... under that unreasonable need to punch said stranger for making her cry, and the inexplicable wave of jealousy that caught him off-guard, Alec felt a creepy sense of deja-vu bothering his already troubled brain.

He focused on the other transgenic, but he couldn't make out his face. He could just tell he was about his height, more or less the same built, short, dirty blond hair, just like him, and... _oh shit_.

Him. Just like _him_.

Realization hit him like a freight train, and Alec stood there, rooted to the spot for like... forever. Looking _himself_ holding _his_ Max and whispering sweet nonsense to soothe her pain.

Looking _himself_ finally perceiving another presence in the room and turning towards _him_.

In less than a second, Alec saw his own confused and shocked expression reflected in a dreadfully familiar pair of hazel eyes.

That fucking deja-vu didn't even get close... neither a mirror could have done better.

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It was Max who broke the spell, or the mirror. _Whatever_. She sensed her brother's discomfort and looked in his same direction. Alec saw in his peripheral vision her deep, warm, concerned chocolate eyes searching his, and couldn't resist their call.

Like he ever could.

Understanding passed thru them, then she offered him a brave, quivering smile that reached her tearful eyes, warming and breaking his heart at the same time.

Alec nodded in response, and left the room.

TBC


	3. New beginnings

Chapter three: New beginnings

Max wasn't an optimist by nature. And given her specific _nature_... that meant that probably back in Manticore they forgot to put "positive thinking" into her genes.

So far, she had come to the conclusion that Murphy's Law ruled her life and she couldn't do anything about it but learn to dodge the bullets.

_So far_.

But looking at the sleeping form of his brother lying on her bed, Max couldn't help wondering. About God, karma, the Blue Lady, or fucking shooting stars. Cuz... now she really had something to be thankful for. But since Manticore was totally out of the question, she was seriously considering an old, fat man with a penchant for red and reindeers.

But jeez... her bro was there. Alive. _Breathing_. In, out. Steadily. Repeatedly. Like it was the most ordinary thing in the world.

Except... it wasn't.

Ben got a second chance. But he wasn't the only one.

Max felt a deep, familiar ache in her heart slowly dissolving, like mist under the heat of the sun. She was so accustomed to bear it that sometimes she almost forgot... and now the void left seemed strangely resounding, begging to be filled.

Light-headed, physically exhausted and with her heart and soul in turmoil, she left her room and went looking for Alec.

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Max knew that there was nothing ordinary about Alec. And that his modified DNA was only the start.

Nevertheless, seeing him sprawled on the coach watching TV was so normal that it was like a soothing balm after the last crazed hours. Yeah... she was almost grateful to see him wolfing pork rings and watching some semi naked girls that... _huh? _

_Porn?_

The jerk was watching porn while she was living the drama of her life in the next room?

Suddenly Max's gratitude evaporated, while annoyance and irritation replaced her distress, the raw and confused emotions that Ben's return had caused quickly forgotten. She was fuming in a sec, the usual itch to hit _and_ bad-mouthing him almost overwhelming.

"_Some things really never change, huh?" _Max mused, exasperated. But while her whole body bent forward, eager for the fight, something clicked, and she stopped in mid tracks.

It was happening again.

Did he know it? Did he do that on purpose?

Every time she thought she had reached her limits, and felt lost, scared, desperate or simply vulnerable and exposed, like now, Alec pushed her over the edge, triggering her rage and literally letting her explode, on _him_.

Her still glaring eyes set on the innocent looking _prick_, Max wondered how much he just was being... his jerk-ish self, and how much he was deliberately adapting, and shifting his behaviour to better fit her moods, challenging a response and offering a so much needed target for her anger and frustrations.

Whatever it was, it worked. Like a magic charm. Her shoulders relaxed, the tension poured out her tight body.

And she couldn't help her scowling expression slowly melting into an amused look, her smile widening as his obvious sexual remark died on his lips, and he stilled, his mouth hanging, clearly startled by her oddly pleased and not-at-all violent reaction.

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A smiling Max was a stunning beauty.

And, Alex thought, way _unsettling_.

Of course, he knew it could happen. Heck, he'd seen it with his own eyes. When Logan was around, for sure. And Joshua as well was at the receiving end of that smile every so often. But Alec's fave was that unforgettable moment when he had barged into their bathroom, reeking and covered with mud after his umpteenth stroll in the sewer, during her hot-bubble-bath time. Max hadn't noticed him at first... she had just resurfaced, eyes closed, a beautiful, soft smile of satisfaction on her sensuous lips. Alec couldn't move, and stood by the door, transfixed... till the wrinkle in her nose told him his survival was at stake, and he blurred away instantly. It wasn't fast enough to avoid another near-to-death experience, though...

But now? He could hear no tell tale whirling sound, or smell doggy boy. And she was still smiling. Alec suppressed the urge to look behind his shoulder, cuz he _knew_ he was alone. He just was having a hard time believing it. Believing... that she was smiling at _him_. Like that. As in a... _"happy to see you"_, or _"glad you're still around"_ mode.

This was such a rare occurrence that Alec didn't really know how to react. Cuz, obviously... if he had known how to get that smile from her, he'd definitely have done it before. A lot.

But maybe... it wasn't because of _him_. Well... her no longer dead brother was asleep in her bedroom. That had to mean something, right? Something of the life altering, nothing will be the same again quality.

Hence, the smile.

How could Alec ever compete with that? With _him_? Sure, after his first, big screw up, he'd tried _anything_ to make her see him. The real Alec, not the Manticore soldier or the cold blooded opportunistic show off she believed he was. But it was so damned hard.

First of all... Alec hadn't realized that this was the real reason he hadn't and couldn't leave Seattle. He owed her, sure. But what he ignored, at the beginning at least, was that he needed something from her.

X5-494 had been one of Manticore's finest. But now there was no Manticore anymore, and he didn't know where he stood. Not a soldier, not a killer. Not even an escapee, like Max and her siblings.

Every time he went out, 494 came back _home_. Obediently, willingly. And watching Manticore burning down, he felt lost. Like if 494 was burning too, his whole being, his identity, nothing more than ashes.

But Max... She had looked at 494 and had seen something else. Something more, something no one, not even 494 himself, had ever seen.

She had seen _Alec_.

That was the reason he stuck around. He wanted to see Alec like she had done, so easily, without any doubt, shattering with a glance years of Manticore efforts.

Is it possible to carve an identity from a name? Or maybe... Maybe it was the other way round. Alec was already there, and Max had only acknowledged him. For the first time _ever_.

If she could see him, others could too. _He_ could too.

Unluckily, before Alec understood that, he had tried to kill her. And like that wasn't enough, she gave up her chance at having a normal life with the man she loved to save his sorry ass.

Not to mention his role on _that_, of course...

Could he really blame her if she thought so little of him? No, of course not. Cuz Alec really was everything she thought of him.

An opportunistic show off. A scumbag. A screw up.

Sure... he wasn't _just_ that. But before he realized how much Max naming him had changed his self perception, before learning who he was and who he wanted to become, he had screw up so many times, and so often at Max's expenses, that it wasn't a big surprise her opinion of him hadn't improved for so long.

Till recently, at last.

In the last few months things between them had changed so fast that Alec hardly believe it. Well... she still hit him and blamed everything that went wrong in her life on him. But she clearly didn't believe it anymore. It was just an act, a familiar and comforting habit. Inside, towards one another, they had changed so much that it was easier keeping the same old façade on the outside.

To Alec, the path was clear now. He just needed her to come to the same conclusion.

At the beginning, he had hoped to gain her friendship, her respect. He knew he couldn't stand a chance with Logan and _that_ kind of love.

Logan's love was pure and cleansing, borne from generosity, from a heart that _believed_ in justice, in better people, better tomorrows, better worlds. He believed it that strongly, that Max could almost believed it too.

Alec couldn't offer her something like that. When he looked at her, he saw the same pitch black shadows that lingered on his soul. He knew people like them couldn't _believe _but just barely _hope_. But Max's frail hope was so tenacious and stubborn _(just like her)_, that she could share it with him. With every creature borne in the darkness, like them.

And he loved her for that.

But why choose hope when you could have faith? Logan could reassure her, like parents do when they say to their children "It's gonna be fine". Max never had that kind of comfort as a child. Why turn to someone broken like her, who could never make believable such a lie?

Of course, she didn't want to. But she _had_ to. To give Logan the chance of a normal, virus-free life. Without her poison.

Alec remembered perfectly that day on the roof. The flaps of Joshua's flag. Their sense of belonging. His annoyance at Max and Logan's hand holding.

Wasn't that his place, since he was the supposed boyfriend?

He had shamelessly listened to their conversation, in a petty attempt to ruin their intimacy. He hadn't felt any better though... cuz his heart broke together with hers. Max was saying goodbye to the love of her life, for good. For his own good. She was lying to Logan, smiling thru her heartache to make him see how happy she was. With Alec.

It almost made him laugh. _Almost_.

Then she had walked towards him, that brave smile still on. Her arm went easily around his waist, and she had buried her face on his chest.

He couldn't help it. He _had_ to look at him. But he hadn't seen the surprise he knew was in his own eyes. Logan was upset, but seemed resigned. He wasn't asking her to give up that stupid farce, since they weren't fooling anyone. And that's because he _was_ fooled. He looked at them and saw a couple. A _believable_ couple.

Suddenly Alec realized that Max saw that too. She could have asked anyone, but she had chosen him. She didn't think of him as the most unlikely choice as a boyfriend. She went to Logan (_Logan_, not... Sketchy, for heaven's sake!) pretending she was in love with him. Knowing he would believe her. That had to mean something, right?

Yes, it did.

This had made his head spin.

And his heart flutter.

Alec knew it was the worst moment for him to... hope. With Max quietly sobbing in his arms. That definitely made him an asshole. An _opportunistic_ asshole.

But, as they say... _all's fair_... They were at war. And he was in love.

Alec certainly didn't think he was a better man than Logan. But maybe... he could be good for her. He could be even _better_ for her.

However... what about another transgenic? Someone who shared her past, had loved her deeply and had taken care of her. Someone who hadn't messed up her life again and again.

Ben's surprise visit was wiping out his whole _"getting Max to know me, and possibly love me"_ plan. Alec wasn't sure of which was his twin's place in her life, but obviously he wasn't going anywhere. He came back to stay.

The worst part was... he couldn't even bring himself to hate the guy.

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Alec's mouth was still hanging a little, his mind obviously lost somewhere far away. It was kinda cute, actually. Not that he would appreciate her saying that out loud...

Max took pity on him, and shrugging carelessly went to reclaim her spot on the couch, tucking her bare feet under his jeans clad thigh, as usual.

Almost without realizing it, his hand went to her ankles, holding them gently. Max could feel his heat spreading thru her, caressing every fiber of her body.

She knew it was the most ridiculous thought _ever_, but Alec did have a calming effect on her.

No doubt, usually she cooled down only after a few rounds of yelling and manhandling him... but sometimes, when her thoughts were scattered and her mind was reeling, she simply soaked up the comfort from his body. From his arm casually thrown on her shoulder, physically sheltering her from the world. Or from his fingers brushing lightly her skin.

Like that day, on the roof. Joshua's flag was waving, a vibrant statement of their history and their hopes. Max had held Logan's hand, but it wasn't a new beginning. It was a goodbye.

She already knew she didn't love him _that way_ anymore. Still, for long she had clung to the memory of that love. Leaving Logan meant giving up her pretence of a normal life, a craved dream of a lost, broken girl escaped from a nightmare.

That day, she had finally felt ready. To start a new life, like all the people around her. _Together_ with the people around her.

Of course, Alec was there too. _Casually _waiting for her. When their eyes locked, he slightly opened his arms.

Max had gone willingly.

Now her life was going to change again. A big piece of her heart that was missing for so long was unexpectedly back. And one of the most hurtful "what if" of her whole existence simply didn't matter anymore.

But Alec was there, waiting for her again.

TBC

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A/N: Sita asked for a longer chappie. I did my best, luv! But for Ben and Alec's confrontation, you'll have to wait for the next one... ;P


	4. Breakfast at Tiffany's

chapter four: Breakfast at Tiffany's

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The hot bath had swept away the last bits of tension. She felt deliciously boneless, but at the same time every cell of her body was purring with a new, quite unusual emotion.

She was happy.

In very Max's fashion, she had been too blind and too stubborn to realize it by herself. Her soul had been crashing under the onslaught of so many different and confused emotions that she had almost failed to recognize the only one that mattered.

_That's when Alec comes handy._ She thought with an annoyed, affectionate smile, finally getting out the tub. She slowly dried herself with a blue fluffy towel, while their conversation replayed in her mind.

With his blunt and almost insensitive words (but she knew better now) and his notorious smart-alecky remarks, he had efficiently blocked every attempt she made at over-analyzing one of the most significant event of her life in the rush of the moment.

And with an easiness that always both scared her to death and comforted her like nothing else, Alec had seen right thru her, baring a speck of happiness under thick layers of guilt, pain and anger. He had carefully and methodically peeled off each one of those layers, setting them aside for another time, till there was nothing left except for that single emotion.

Ben had come back to her. Not just physically, but psychologically as well.

Max had her brother back, she had her family again. And she had been waiting for this moment since that fateful night of the great escape.

She knew she had tons of problems to deal with. For instance, how to turn the still military-ish transgenic community into a bunch of aware and somewhat proud-to-be freaks ready to face the world _and, _how to make said world, that was just waiting for them to screw up and show the monsters inside, understand that really, what you see is what you get, and the fur, the scales and the super strength didn't hide ogres underneath.

And then she had her personal, unresolved issues to consider as well.

Ben.

_Alec._

But for now, she chose to bask in happiness. And she'd be damned before letting anyone ruin that.

Max squared her shoulders and lifted her chin up. With a defiant smirk on her lips, and fire dancing in her eyes, she opened the bathroom door, and then strolled assertively into the kitchen, ready to face _anything_.

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Almost anything.

_Huh...?_

That was the more coherent thought that Max could muster, looking at the scene developing in the room. Or better, looking at the scene _stilling_ in front of her.

Apparently, just a few moments before she left the bathroom the boys had waken up, and met in a totally unplanned and quite awkward rendezvous.

They were facing each other, hazel eyes locked in a silent communication.

_This could have been funny._ Max realized wryly, her gaze shifting from one to the other.

Almost the same rumpled clothes (no wonder here. Ben had borrowed Max's t-shirt and sweat pants... that Max had taken from Alec's drawer, a few weeks back), and almost the same bed hair. And it wasn't required the enhanced vision to see that they were just the same, from head to toe.

Even the emotions playing on the same chiselled face were matching: wariness, mild curiosity, a touch of hostility, resentment and... envy.

_Envy? _She wondered if she had just imagined that.

Strangely, the usual mask that Manticore's pupils naturally wore in stressful situation wasn't anywhere in sight.

_Or_, Max reasoned, _it's just that I know them so well that I don't notice it anymore. _

But the staring contest was getting on her nerves, and she sighed.

_Bad move, Maxie. _

Unable to budge, she stood still, watching with morbid fascination two pairs of hazel eyes suddenly breaking contact to set on her, questioningly. Expectantly. Like she was the answer they were looking for.

The twins shifted in sync, coming closer, in a perfect surrounding motion. Max watched almost in awe the lethal pair advancing on her, absent-mindedly wondering if the decision to join forces (at her expenses) was rational or if they had unconsciously adjusted to the new situation.

Two wolves, one deer... in the headlight.

_Oh shit! _

Well... that was way more coherent, wasn't it? Her instinct to run for survival had always been strong. And now, it had come back with a vengeance.

She backed away a few steps, and they immediately relaxed their stances. Ben and Alec shrugged slightly, while ruefully smiles tugged at their lips.

Okay, make those a sweet, lopsided grin and a cocky smirk...

But they were still effectively cornering her against the kitchen counter, and Max couldn't help feeling like a soon to be eaten canary.

_Where's the rescue team when you need it? _As on cue, the mobile rang. Alec picked it up from the table next to him, and Max used his momentary distraction to snatch it at a blurring speed, successfully escaping the siege.

"Max!" She almost squealed. Then, after listening for a minute, she added in a surprisingly sweet and concerned tone: "Of course, I'll come to help you, Mole. I perfectly understand you weren't trained for this. I'll be there in a sec".

Max hung up and walked towards the door. With her hand on the knob, and safety within reach, she turned to the twins, smiling.

"Sorry, guys. But I gotta jet. There's this big problem with some... uhmm... broken pipes, you know? HQ is in danger of... well, flooding. I can't let Mole alone in this. Really. You can have some breakfast and then... Alec can show you around. Can you Alec, please? Highlights of TC and such, right? Or you can rest a little more if you feel like it, Ben. We can catch up later. Yeah, later. Well... I'll go now. Bye".

A blur, and she was gone.

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Ben's eyes sparkled with amusement at his sister's antics. He looked at his twin, and predictably, he could detect the same emotion in Alec's.

This mirror thing was getting creepy.

"She's always been good at escape & evade".

Alec chuckled. He was leaning on the doorframe, quietly observing him with an irritating smirk. Max had told him that this was a kind of trademark look, and Ben felt strangely relieved that at least they could muster different facial expressions.

Having a twin was a quite normal occurrence. Of course, usually you know you've got a twin brother since the beginning. Ben had learnt it with a 20 year delay. And as Max had briefly told him about Alec's life since their escape, he knew too how he'd repeatedly screwed up his bro's existence without even knowing there was something to ruin in the first place.

Perfect. He just wanted a new beginning, but the extra baggage from his past grew bigger at every step. Ben had prepared himself to face Max, beg for her forgiveness and somehow win his sister back. Well, that went better than he had dared to hope. Their wounds needed time to heal, but the truth was, he had never lost her.

But Alec? He wasn't one of his siblings, but he shared with him more than with everyone else.

Did he owe him at least an apology for what Alec went through because he had an insane twin? Should he feel guilty for that?

Of course, Ben knew it was all Manticore's doing. Maybe he was faulty, but that was because they made him that way. He couldn't be blamed for that. But... the same was for Alec. They had made him sane, but it wasn't like he had a word on that.

He really shouldn't hold it against him. He really shouldn't be envious of him.

Even if when he looked at Alec, Ben could finally see that perfect, whole, self-assured being he had longed to glimpse every time he glanced at his reflection in a mirror.

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"What do you want?" Alec's question broke the silence. "Or should I just assume you'd want the same thing I want?"

Okay, that was way loaded with second meanings...

Ben looked slightly taken aback, and Alec suddenly realized that he had really meant that. He did want to know. Anyway, it was too soon, and Max would have killed him for less. Give the guy some time, right?

"For breakfast, you know", he clarified.

Ben wasn't fooled for a second. He had just met him, but clearly he knew his face enough to catch the determined look underneath the casual tone.

"Milk and cereals, if you've got any".

His twin had followed his lead and avoided the confrontation, leaving Alec both relieved and frustrated at the same time.

"Yeah... I should have gone with the assumption", he couldn't help adding, before turning around to prepare the breakfast.

_Damnit Max!_

Why did she have to chicken now? She had forgotten all that fearless leader crap in a minute, running away and leaving the two of them to deal on their own.

_I could have been looking at you instead of at my too alive reflection!_

Alec wondered if it was too late or inappropriate to propose Ben to eat in front of the boob tube. He did that all the time. Probably his twin liked it too.

_At least I could eat without looking at myself, eating my cereals and wearing... my clothes._

He hadn't paid much attention to Ben's garments before, but now he distinctly remembered when he had seen Max wearing them. He had teased her, cuz she always run off clean clothes more often than he did. "See what happens running away before Home Economics 101?" he had mocked her, "our little Maxie will never become wife material". "Since you obviously liked those lessons, why don't you show me again how to make the laundry, _darling?_" she had snapped back, sticking out her pink tongue.

Max had given her bro his t-shirt and pants just for a matter of size, he knew that. But... looking at Ben in his clothes, unexpectedly implied something else.

It didn't mattered what Ben had done, how many had killed, what he had asked her to do. He just comes back, and he's got everything again, in 5 sec tops. Her heart. A place in her life.

It had taken him how long? and he hadn't even got that close!

Sometimes, a little voice in his head told him that Max kept him around cuz she couldn't have her brother back. Alec had argued with that voice, but he'd never been able to shut her up for good. And now she was back again, taunting him with her cruel words. Ben had always had her. It was Alec that never did.

He had been a replacement. Now he was just unnecessary.

TBC


	5. The Emperor's New Clothes

A/N: sorry for the loooong wait. That was a bitch to write!

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Ben felt his brother's gaze piercing on him and suppressed a shudder. Strangely, Alec wasn't looking directly at him. He was somewhat entranced, his eyes slightly unfocused, wandering on his twin's... clothes.

Ben could see as Alec slowly realized something, his face no more confused but hard with unmasked resentment. Sure, he had expected this kind of reaction but just a few moments earlier Alec had clearly shown he didn't want to go thru... whatever they needed to face, so soon. Obviously he had changed his mind. And that sudden decision had been triggered by the clothes?

He simply refused to lower his gaze and look at what he was wearing, and kept looking at Alec's face. He was unnerving him a little, but Ben refused to feel threaten by his twin. Deliberately, he didn't sweep his emotions under the blank mask as Manticore had taught him. He wasn't even sure that it could have worked with Alec, anyway...

However, Alec's unsettling fixation got him curious, and Ben couldn't help taking in the smells on the clothes he was wearing. He could easily detect his own and Maxie's, of course. But, underneath them, a faint, male smell still lingered. Alec's smell. Alec's... clothes.

_How could I have been so stupid?_

Of course they were Alec's. They were too big for Max. _Max_. Suddenly everything clicked into place. He was wearing _his_ clothes, eating _his_ stupid cereals, sitting in _his_ dingy kitchen. That was the home Alec shared with her, _the life_ he shared with her.

Ben knew that he had somehow screwed his twin's life, but it was obvious that it wasn't their past that bothered Alec.

_Well, that's just wishful thinking. Our past doesn't bother him **right now**._

Now, Alec's jaw was twitching with barely restrained anger because of what he saw in front of him. He saw Ben usurping his place in Max's life.

But the despair he could see in Alec's haunted eyes told him more. He was clinging on his rightful anger, almost basking in it, because he knew that the rage was his only defence against the doubt. The doubt that _maybe_ Ben wasn't usurping anything. The doubt that Ben was just taking back what had never been his in the first place.

Ben couldn't help it, and laughed softly, bitterly.

_Great, add a touch of craziness... your bro will love it!_

And, of course, Alec's icy glare now held a nuance of suspiciousness, and his stance, already taut with rage, became slightly defensive.

_Time to come clean._

Ben put down the bowl, and went to the window. He could feel Alec's eyes and his anger burning a hole in his back but he shrugged them off, and stared at TC spread below them. Even if they weren't as high as he craved right now, the view was quite open and the position allowed spotting HQ and a few buildings that Ben could identify as relevant in the transgenic community. A tactical advantage, of course. This could have been Alec's reason to pick that apartment. Well, every one of them would have chosen it for that motive. But it was so damned easy for him to understand his sister's need to get a place for her that could be almost considered a 'high place'. Ben shared that need with her, and it warmed his heart that after this long they could still feel the same. So, when he spoke his tone was resolute but quiet, and his words held no menace but truth.

"I can give you back your clothes, you know? If it bothers you, I mean. Even if I'm not self-assured like you, I think I can manage to be naked till I find a better solution. But... these are just clothes. I won't give up on _her_ that easily, because I love her too much. I need her to find my balance, to be myself once again. I'm sorry if _this_ bothers you".

_Nice speech, kid. So, you did want to apologize, huh?_

"And I'm sorry if we are more similar that we... okay, that _you_ would mind, I guess".

_Yeah, you did._

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Usually Alec had no problem controlling his emotions. He could be desperate or heart-broken, but his face showed only the smug, happy-go-luck mask that attracted chicks better than honey. Well, his I'm-always-alright motto didn't fool Max anymore of course, but he kinda liked that she really _saw_ him.

Still, this was different. He wasn't Max. Ben made him feel vulnerable and exposed, and he hated that. Because even if he _was_ vulnerable and exposed right now, he wasn't supposed to let it show. He hadn't bothered to mask his rage since he wanted his twin to know that, and maybe, _maybe_, feel a little intimidated, but the guy seemed unimpressed. Ben just stood there, quietly telling him what was bothering him.

And the bastard apologized for that!

This was getting better and better. He could clearly picture her face when he'd said her "Hey Maxie... I don't know how to tell you, but after seeing my clone wearing my clothes I kinda snapped and beat him to a pulp!" Now his last sentence to her, before meeting an instant but oh so painful death by her own bare hands, could improve into "Hey Maxie... I don't know how to tell you, but after seeing my clone wearing my clothes _and listening to him apologizing for that,_ I kinda snapped and beat him to a pulp!"

Yeah, that sounded better.

Alec had never understood Max's need to resort to physical violence like now. If he really couldn't waste him, he wanted at least to hurt him. Not to think about him. And definitely not to _feel_ about him.

Because they _were_ too similar for his liking, and they did want the same thing. And that was just too easy to understand.

Like Ben, Alec loved her too much. And needed her to be himself. _Once again_, his twin had said. Heck, he had never been himself before Max had seen Alec beneath 494's smokescreen.

But can you really punch someone who feel like you and apologize for it? As much as you want it, can you?

Alec could deal with someone in love with Max. Even if the love was requited. He'd done that for so long already. But Logan had never threatened Alec's place in her life. Whichever it was. Now, there was someone with his own face, displaying his own emotions. And if Max chose Ben, there wouldn't be anything left for him.

No. He wouldn't give up on her that easy too.

"You can keep the clothes, I don't mind _that_. But... there are too many I in your little declaration. What about her needs, her wishes? I'm not questioning your affection, you know. I just wonder if _you_ are good for Max's 'balance'..."

Alec trailed off. He made his tone match his brother's, and successfully hid the sarcasm. That was a low blow and he knew it. Well... his brother (_big_ brother? 493 meant he was born before him? fucking great. He was the second choice right from the beginning!) wanted to play this like they were civil men? He could do it. He wanted to play psy-ops? He could do this as well. Thanks to Ben, he had spent so many months there that he had learnt a few tricks himself. And all this 'I could read right thru you' was just easier because they shared the same face. Well, actually, the shared DNA was probably the main reason, but Alec wasn't ready to go there just now.

He wanted to punch the guy, and if he couldn't do it physically, a little verbal sparring would do it. So when Ben flinched at the dreadful meaning of his mild-mannered words like he had been slapped, Alec relished the sound of his twin's sharp intake of breath. And totally ignored the treacherous waves of guilt rising faster than a springtide.

Because he knew he was lying. And he knew too that while Ben was good at second-guessing him, he couldn't really do that when those painful emotions clouded his judgement. Those were Ben's fears, and he was purposefully taking advantage of them. Lying.

Because he knew he was lying.

Hell, he'd spent hours with Max. A confused, upset Max. He had helped her to sort out her feelings and realize that no matter how much deep her pain was, the thing that mattered most was how much she was happy now. Happy to have him back. She could deal with the pain later. Because they had time now.

But Alec ignored the guilt. And went on, his voice no longer calm but rising at every word shouted with violence and shame. He intentionally chose to disregard his qualms of conscience, already too heavy, to focus on his fears for the future. The future he wanted to share with Max. Oh, he could do that. All the ammo his past provided were almost a surplus. _Almost_.

"Do you think you just come back, and everything will be fine again? Do you? Well, things were never good to begin with. Let me enlighten you, will you? You were broken, and you broke her in your selfish attempt to avoid your personal hell. Then what? They pop your neck back in position, and they gave you a few pills to cure your _paranoia_? some fucking colored pills? and that's all? no more crazy Ben, hunting & killing random people, pulling their teeth out to offer them to your blue lady? Because you needed strength? what for? kill again... or live thru the guilt? and we know you did felt guilty... your hand made barcodes showed that, right?"

Alec saw Ben's body crumbling under his accusations. There was so much truth in his harsh words that the boy couldn't really deny any of them. He shut his eyes, in a futile attempt to physically stop the assault, and tried to find his voice.

But Ben's voice was merely a feeble murmur now, the murmur a drowning man utters when his lungs are filled with water and he can't speak properly.

"I wasn't... _They_ made me feel that way. Manticore..."

Alec just leaned over, and pushed Ben's head under the water.

"Maybe you think we should forgive you because that was their fault, in the end. They messed up your mind to play another of their little funny experiment. High level of paranoia in a controlled environment. Can you push it till the subject become schizophrenic? Can you manipulate a delusional soldier thru his hallucinations? Of course, they didn't expect you running away and screwing their 'controlled environment' to the point of no return. So, obviously, you're _innocent."_

Alec spat the last word. Yeah, another punch in the gut. Another blow that didn't leave a visible bruise.

"Not that I particularly care in this moment, but yes, I believe that. I believe it wasn't your fault. I just don't give a shit about it. Wanna know why? Her heart shattered into pieces for you, and that was a side effect of what they have done to you. I get that. But it was you that day in the woods. You drove home the last strike, not them. _You_ asked her to kill you, to save yourself. To rest in peace leaving her to live alone with her demons. _You broke her._"

Yeah, the last nail. Alec knew how much damage he was doing, _he_ was the one manipulating Ben's fears. Who better than him could play the role of his twin's sick, guilty conscience? And if that was playing dirty, he simply didn't care.

Alec looked at his distraught brother, and his own distraught face looked back at him. No, he wouldn't feel guilty. He tried to steel his heart, but it didn't obey his command. His heart was calling for Max.

Not the Max who trusted him and shared her dreams and hopes with him.

Not the Max who laughed with him at night watching reruns of silly pre-pulse shows.

No. He wanted a defeated, disappointed Max who could tell him, with no wonder in her voice, that he had let her down another time. He could clearly hear her words in his head.

_I can't believe I'm saying this **again**. Don't think I'm ever getting over that. Just... do me a favor, all right? Go away. I can't even look at you right now._

This was the only Max he deserved right now.

TBC

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A/N2: Okay... i just hope i found a believable reason to explain Ben going... Ben. Anyway, that was the best explanation _i_ could come up with. And since the story doesn't really focus on the whys... that's what you got! lol


	6. Invasion of the Body Snatchers

AN: yeah, i know. it took sooo long :( For whose still reading though, this is absolutely my longest chapter ever. I hope this will compensate a little for the wait!

AN/2: out of the damn apartament, finally! i was gettin claustrophobic...

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That was whack. Pretty whack.

First off, a nearly six and a half foot tall dog man, usually draws attention, even in a place like Terminal City which was full of downstairs people. So for Joshua to have entered a room unnoticed, well it just didn't happen. Add to that that the room contained two X-5s, soldiers trained to take in all their surroundings, even in sleep, and the enhanced senses to hear and smell the arrival of even a miniature Yorkshire terrier, and you had an occurrence that didn't happen _ever_. Until now.

Joshua had knocked on the door, waited politely at least 5 seconds, like Cindy had taught him, before letting himself in, and managed to get at arm's length (okay, he had pretty long arms. But still...) from two X-5s without being acknowledged in the slightest.

Then... there was the look on their faces. Throbbing waves of pain were radiating from their bodies and filling the room with a deadly heaviness. Joshua could smell it, and his stomach contracted painfully.

He was shocked and confused. This was a family reunion, right? He had met little fella at HQ a few moments before, and her whole body was humming in happiness. She could barely contain her joy. It was impossible to be near the bouncing girl and not to be affected. Heck, even Mole had offered her one of his beloved cigars to celebrate the moment!

So... what could have possibly gone wrong?

"Huh... guys?" he murmured, breaking the heavy silence. Joshua didn't really want to, but his kind spirit couldn't stand by while his family was hurting. Alec was family, and since the new one was brother to both Max and Alec, that made him family too. So Joshua inserted himself into the situation, for their sake. They clearly needed a way out, a way to break the stalemate, and if that meant Josh had to be there and get involved when he would rather curl up and whimper ... well, he loved his friends enough to do it. He just hoped he was strong enough to restrain two alpha males if they decided to go after each other or Joshua.

Both men snapped out of their trance instantly, surprised by his unexpected presence but clearly relieved to break the stare off that had consumed them. He took it as a good sign, and before either of them could speak, Joshua enveloped Ben in a bone-crushing hug.

"Welcome home, twin fella!"

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Before the... creature could register the shocked look on Ben's face, he had reached Ben with surprising speed and now was crushing him with, well, unsurprising strength.

Ben wasn't sure he could have moved fast enough to avoid the embrace, but it was a moot point since he was frozen on the spot, absolutely terrified by the huge transhuman advancing on him with unknown dreadful reasons. _A 'nomalie. _And now the lack of oxygen wasn't doing any good to his already shattered mind.

_C__an't breathe. Can't move!_

_He's gonna kill me!_

_I've got to disentangle myself from this nightmarish creature and..._

_Nightmare? _

_Oh God, Ben! Stop it! This is __**not**__ a fictional, horrid 'nomalie cooked up by your sick, hallucinated mind. __**This is real!**__ A real transhuman, who happens to be... terribly happy to see you. Stop wondering why, just relax and try to breathe. You can do that, right? Right?!?_

Actually, Ben wasn't sure he could do it. Yeah, now he knew the difference between the 'nomalies that haunted his feverish dreams, and the reality of those poor creatures that had been the victims of Manticore's twisted attempts at experimentation. Even his own personal hell had been better. Still, that didn't mean it was easy to react normally when a gigantic, dog man is squeezing the air out of you and you still don't know why.

It was so fucking hard not to let the old habits take over, not to let fear and violence fill his fragile heart, and rule his actions.

Ben knew that. He knew his weakness, and how much help he needed to stem the darkness that sometimes still threatened to enfold his heart. Sure, those colored pills helped a lot. But it wasn't enough. He needed more. He needed his family. _Max_.

When he had lost it, literally a life ago, he had thought it was because they had left Manticore, where everything made sense, only to be thrust, alone, into a world of confusion and questions without answers. But when Manticore had brought him back to life, and 'cured' him, he had discovered the truth, once the medication had lifted the veil of craziness and paranoia that clouded his thinking.

He didn't need Manticore. He hadn't ever needed it. _Mission. Duty. Discipline._ When he was alone, lost in a world that didn't understand him, and didn't want him, those lies poorly filled the void left in his heart by his family, his siblings, the only ones that could keep his fear in check, stabilizing his emotions, simply by loving him, just as the pills stabilized his brain chemistry imbalance.

He knew that now. That was why, even if the act itself totally stunned him, he wasn't caught by surprise when he abruptly relaxed, and breathed somewhat normally, as soon as he felt the warm and comforting touch of his brother's hand lightly gripping his shoulder.

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Just a few moments before, Alec was methodically dissecting his brother visually, and _enjoying_ it. Okay, maybe that was too strong. Even if he usually managed to not involve his conscience in his business, he knew that this time he'd have a lot to answer for. He couldn't deny though, that a part of him had been almost pleased to shatter the fragile hope he had recognized in his bro's eyes. Yeah, recognized. He saw the same hope in the same eyes every morning, facing the mirror.

So, why did it bother him that much seeing his twin paralysed with fear when Joshua hugged him nearly to death?

Alec watched in awe as his hand, of its own volition, came to rest on Ben's shoulder.

"Come on, big fella! Let him go now, 'kay? He's not used to being... well, manhandled, ya know?" he said jokingly. Whoa... lips moving, sensible words forming, and he didn't have a say in that.

When Joshua finally released him, Alec automatically took a step forward, positioning himself halfway between his friend and Ben. Then, he gave a mental shrug, and let whatever was actually in charge of his body do as 'it' pleased.

"Need anything, Josh? What brings you here?" Oh look! The thing was genuinely interested. Well, no big here. Everyone loved the big fella.

"Come to check. Little fella slightly worried... but people at HQ keep her busy. So Joshua checks on medium and twin fella, right?"

"Yeah, you're righ— what? Wait. Max asked _you_ to come here and... check on us?" Alec asked incredulously. Funny. The... pod? that possessed his body surely had sentiments. In that pre-pulse old movie, they were as emotionless as a carrot. His usual luck. Cuz he could feel how much the utter disbelief coloring his tone was mixed with an increasing anger at the remote possibility that Max could have been that naïve to send one of the biggest transhumans sprouted from the basement to _check_ on Ben. Who was sane now, really. But... not a nice welcome for someone who had create a whole religion where the 'nomalies reigned over the designated hell.

But since when did he care, anyway?

"No. Max busy. But Joshua wanted to meet Max's brother and Alec's brother. So Joshua here."

"That's okay," the pod said, it and Alec now somewhat mollified. "Are you going somewhere now? I was supposed to show Ben around and any place is good to start..." Alec interjected.

A grin split the big man's face, and he bounced towards the door. "'Kay. Joshua leads, you two follow."

With a brief but reassuring nod in Ben's direction, Alec followed after his friend. He almost didn't mind when he even turned around to be sure Ben was coming.

Alec was emotionally drained. In the last ten hours, he had met his no longer dead brother and played counsellor for Max, helping her sorting through her emotions. He had also failed his first attempt at building a sort of relationship with said brother (probably cuz nobody was there to counsel him about _his_ emotions), and at the specific moment he was assaulted by disconcerting and conflicting feelings towards the guy. Feelings that he just wanted to ignore and forget.

Yep, let's go sightseeing.

He badly needed to get out the damn apartment and breathe some fresh air. Well, as fresh as the air got in a radioactive bio-medical wasteland. And the pod? It probably just wanted to get out and spread.

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Hidden in the shadows two flights up, Max spied the unusual trio.

She backed a little when Joshua sniffed suspiciously, and looked up at exactly where she was hiding. But he simply shrugged, and chose not to pursue her trail. Surely he would ask her about it later, but for now Max sighed in relief. Occasionally, she was kinda glad to be 'forced' to talk to her big fella. Sure, he was an innocent soul most of the time. But he had a pretty scary insight that he often used unmercifully on the people he loved. She had experienced several soul baring conversations with him, and she knew that Alec too had undergone the same treatment a few times.

Max begrudgingly acknowledged the therapeutic outcome of those metaphorical visits to the dentist, but she appreciated that he was giving her a little time to recover her composure. She didn't want him to see her like that, seated on a dirty step, hands still lightly trembling, hugging her knees.

Her life was an emotional rollercoaster recently. She had chosen to set the switch on happiness, and she knew it was the right choice. Still, she couldn't let her overwhelming joy at Ben's return make her forget how many problems were attached to it.

Her own issues with Ben didn't bother her that much. The scars were deep, but she knew that this time, time was on her side, and nothing could truly lessen the fact that he was _back_.

Alec's issues with his twin couldn't be dismissed as easily. He wasn't a vengeful person, and Max was sure he didn't _plan_ to make Ben suffer for all he had suffered because of him. However, he was human—well, kinda human. And their past was due to put a heavy strain on whatever, hopefully brotherish, relationship they might develop. Hell, thanks to Ben, Alec had visited Psy-Ops more than any other transgenic. Could he ever forget that? Could either of them? She wasn't so sure. And for once, even if this actually depended on him, she wasn't gonna blame the guy.

Max had also a nagging, quite disturbing sensation that there was more at stake. She had no clue on what it was but looking at the twins that morning she saw something else going on between them, something she didn't understand but was obvious to them. They had only just met and she was already excluded from some secret between them. She wondered briefly if Alec would share, voluntarily or not. But no, she would get an 'I'm alright' on this, she knew. Even if they were good at sharing now, Alec wouldn't open up about something that would probably hurt her. Yeah, she and Alec had grown in their friendship and were good at protecting each other as well. She just needed to unleash Joshua on him for this one. Therapeutic reasons and such. Besides she was curious. And given that it was Alec and Ben, she might need to know so she could bale their asses out of the inevitable trouble that would follow.

Last but not the lest, there were Ben's own issues. He already suspected that there was something wrong in what he was doing back then, when his mind was still clouded and infected by paranoia. But now that he was free of his nightmare, could the realization that he had been used like a tool, a puppet with no will, quench the guilt of his actions? Max knew how guilt worked. It wasn't rational or sensible. And there were too many ghosts from his past that sooner or later would ask him to answer for his sins, albeit innocently committed.

Okay, the number of issues she had to deal with was _huge_. Was it so strange that for once she had chosen to forget them and concentrate on the happy side? Still, back at HQ, when the euphoric effect of her joy began to evaporate, the voice of reason had reared its ugly head.

Alec and Ben, alone in the apartment? The remote possibility that something could go wrong, terribly wrong, crept into her mind. Max became restless, and tried to politely disentangle herself from the various people that kept coming, involving her in the usual TC activities. She badly wanted to run home and check on them, her mouth was answering in autopilot now, while her mind was busy running horrible scenarios where—

_Oh no, Max, stop that! They'__ll be perfectly fine! I mean, Ben's on medications and Alec has grown-up a lot from the insensitive bastard he was at the beginning, so... oh shit!_

While she was internally debating if she'd done the right thing leaving the two of them on their own, and externally trying to look interested in whatever conversation was taking place around her, her brain finally registered Joshua's parting words.

He had somewhat caught her discomfort, and told Dix he was gonna check on the guys while heading to the kitchen. He was so curious to meet Ben, anyway! Little fella's lost brother, and at the same time, a new one for medium fella?

Max visibly paled while realized how things could really go wrong adding a huge, over-excited transhuman to the mix. Instantly, she blurred as fast as she could towards her apartment, oblivious of the strange looks of the people around her. She made it home in record time, and reached the open door just a few minutes after Joshua. Just a few minutes too late.

Ben looked small and fragile, lost in the bigger man's hug. The Bad Place had finally got him. But... how could Max 'save' him without treating Josh as a scary monster?

Alec seemed to know the right answer. A simple gesture, a touch to convey comfort but... But she had never felt so grateful to anyone in her entire life.

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Ben was walking slightly behind the two friends, amused by their funny interaction. It was clear that they cared for each other, and Alec looked quite relaxed in the big man's presence, like Josh had a soothing effect on him. Ben too was feeling optimistic.

A monster from his past had welcomed him to his new home. A home his long lost little sister had made. And his brother... well, maybe his brother didn't hate him as much at it seemed at first.

Could he honestly ask for more? No, he knew. This was more and more like the second chance he has hoped to get.

And probably, Ben realized, this was just a common feeling among the young people and the children that walked the streets of TC. Everyone seemed to have a purpose. But it wasn't a burden, like the missions back in Manticore. It looked more as a freely chosen responsibility.

Alec and Joshua, like professional tour guides, showed him the main 'attractions' of TC. The buildings in better shape that they had chose to inhabit, the infirmary, the school for the younger X series, even a gym. Of course, some of them were nothing more than projects, but he was overwhelmed nonetheless. He had never seen 'squatters' more organized than the busy transgenics and transhumans that were trying hard to transform Terminal City into _their_ place. Sure, it was a toxic dump with ruined, empty buildings. But... after having spent his childhood in one of the most modern, cleanest and technologically advanced facilities in the whole world probably, he could definitely see the attraction.

His presence wasn't unnoticed. Everyone knew Alec and Joshua apparently, and once they were spotted, people's eyes inevitably drifted to him. But the reaction was less than he expected, just mild surprise and little curiosity. A dark haired guy, Biggs, had teased Alec, affirming, hand on his heart to add drama, that he was very sorry he wasn't a 'unique creature, unlike any others' anymore... While the two of them went on with their easy banter, Joshua had explained to Ben how clones were common in TC these days.

"They not curious because you are a twin. They curious because you are Alec's".

Well, it seemed his brother was quite a personality. He must have got his share of charisma as well. Not that he minded. The centre of attention wasn't exactly his favourite spot...

"...and this is my favorite place, the kitchen", said Joshua, breaking his musings. "One big kitchen works better than lots of small kitchens. And the mess is over there, see? Joshua takes care of the food supplies. People is always happy when have food, and this makes Joshua happy too. Big fella gotta breeze now!"

Ben watched his new friend run towards his reign. Yeah, _friend_. How strange was that? A small, content smile graced Ben's lips, and he tilted his head up, letting the unusually bright Seattle sun bathing his face.

"Huh, Ben?" Alec called lightly, "Let's go now, HQ is right around the corn— Oh, shit! Joshua! I totally forget to tell him about the heist... I'll go after him. You can just turn left over there, HQ will be in front of you. Can't miss it... ugly, two-storybuilding, lots of people coming and going. Ask for Max, 'k?", and Alec took off, without waiting for an answer.

Ben arched his brow, and watched Alec running after Joshua for a second, before resuming his stroll. The smile was still in place, and his pace was unusually light and relaxed. He wasn't alone in hostile territory, was he? He could let his guard down for once, nothing bad was gonna happen.

Except maybe, being hit by a truck. Or, by a blurring, red-haired X-5 female that knocked the wind out of him as soon as he turned towards HQ. The girl in question held something in her arms that limited her reflexes, so Ben gripped her by the waist to steady her.

When the girl looked up meeting his eyes with a grateful expression on her impish face, Ben forgot anything he was going to say. When was the last time he had held a female body so close? He couldn't remember. Especially not now, when her soft body was pressed against his, and he was lost in grey eyes sparkling with mischief, that now looked at him with unconcealed amusement. An eyebrow shot up in a silent question, maybe because now she was perfectly balanced on her own feet, and he hadn't released her yet. But he was too sidetracked to notice, focused on the striking contrast made by her fiery red hair on her pale skin.

No, he couldn't remember.

Of course, he had spent hours holding Max the night before. But that was different. She didn't exactly count as a _female_, did she? Her smell surrounding him was comforting, and had lulled him in the first peaceful sleep since… the last time he had slept wrapped around his siblings. Nothing like this stranger's earthly, spiced and milky— milky??— scent, that stirred long forgotten sensations.

"Alec, are you still here?" the tone was amused, but... talk about a cold shower.

Ben suddenly let her go, and nervously cleared his voice. "Huh, listen, I'm not—", but the thing in her arms abruptly came to life, screaming like a banshee and effectively cutting off the rest of his sentence.

The girl instantly tried to coax the baby into silence, with sweet nonsense and light kisses on the alarming red face of the screamer, with no apparent result. It just kept shrieking, as trying to demonstrate, given the brief and rare pauses to breathe, that its little transgenic lungs were in perfect shape.

"Oh, please Eve, calm down, will ya baby? For your mommy's sake... I mean, you don't want a deaf mom, do you?" said mom pleaded, letting out a frustrated sigh.

Eve? So, it was a she. Ben chuckled, cuz that almost crimson now, wrinkled thingie that was successfully overpowering a full grown X-5 was as far as you can get from the ideal picture of a 'baby girl'.

He knew that was the wrong thing to do as soon as the sweet, young mummy set her not so sweet, grey eyes on him. Her glare made him back off a little, but when her angry look unexpectedly became sugary, he swallowed anxiously, unnerved by the danger that lurked under the bright, blinding smile.

"Alec..."

"No, listen, I'm not—"

"Please, don't say no. It's just for a moment, okay? I can't do anything when Eve's like this. And she can keep it up for _hours_. But she adores you. You keep her for a while, and I'll be back before you notice. Promise. Please?"

Her smile was blinding, indeed. So, when she threw the baby to him, without waiting for his answer, his arms lifted up to grab her instinctively.

Ben looked down at the bundle of joy that, momentarily distracted by her new position, had stopped screaming, and was looking back at him, with a hint of suspicion in her eyes. Could a baby so young actually glare? Ben wondered. She must have gotten the ability from her mom, together with those amazing grey eyes. Yeah, the mom that was running away right now.

"Wait!" Ben shouted, a slight panic in the voice. "I'm not—"

"Don't worry, Alec. I won't tell anybody what a perfect babysitter you made!" she shouted back, not bothering to stop.

"But I—"

"Thanks!" she yelled, with laughter in her voice. And then she was gone.

"Ouch," Ben murmured softly, his attention back on the creature in his arms. He briefly considered that he was handling her like she was a bomb, arms completely stretched onwards, hands under her minuscule armpits. Eve was hanging there, her rosy little legs dangling like she was a rag doll. But since she had resumed her preferred activity, she did resemble more an explosive device than a harmless doll.

Well, surely at Manticore they hadn't taught him how to defuse one of those. Ben sighed. Suddenly, hostile territory didn't sound that bad...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On her way back, Gem spotted Alec half seated on a pile of debris, Eve resting on the crook of his arm. She stopped dead in her tracks, not believing her enhanced eyes for the first time ever.

When she had literally run into Alec, half an hour before, he had looked a little off. But she badly needed someone to take care of her baby for a while, and even if Alec wasn't her first choice as a babysitter, she had no qualms leaving her with him.

Alec was absolutely trustworthy, of course. And his charm, that worked on every female on earth (with the only exception of Max, Gem mused grinning), didn't failed him with Eve either. He usually managed to make her stop crying, but much to her mother's dismay, he turned her into a bundle of hyperactive energy that drained Gem's strength at amazing speed. But now... Now he was quietly murmuring something to her, and Eve, wide awake, was completely enraptured with his tale. She couldn't understand the meaning of his words yet, but she could have fooled you on this. Her big eyes, wide open, were fixed on him, and her breathing pattern matched the rhythm of his story.

"What have you done to her?" Gem couldn't help asking, after she silently approached them. Her tone was low, cuz she didn't what to break the spell, but the surprise in her question was clear.

Ben turned to her abruptly. "What...? Nothing of course!"

"Well, she doesn't seem an energizer bunny high on drugs like every time you keep her for more than 3 minutes!" Gem exclaimed. "Whatever spell you used this time, it worked. Big time! You're officially the First Babysitter, Alec!"

"That's unlikely, since I'm not—"

"Oh yes, you are. Believe me, you're going to do this soon again. I swear on my sleepless nights!" Gem bent to pick up her still rapt little girl, then, on second thought, she bent again and kissed him soundly on the cheek.

For the second time that day, she run away from him, with a heartfelt "Thank you!" on her smiling lips.

Ben stood there, with a dazed look on his face. "I'm not... Alec", he whispered uselessly to her retreating back.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alec was discussing with Joshua the food supplies they were planning on replenish with the next heist when Max entered the kitchen.

"Hey guys," she called, her tone somewhat subdued. Josh greeted her back, and he noted a silent communication between the two of them.

Then she turned towards him. "Alec, about Ben..."

"Huh?" Ben. Of course she would ask about him. Everything was _about Ben_ now. Then he suddenly remembered. He had left him near to HQ. Well, it wasn't like he had abandoned a little child in the wild, was it? "What about him?" he asked with a hint of resentment in his voice.

Max didn't seem to notice. "Thank you," she murmured. Then she closed the distance between them, put a hand on his chest and stretched up to kiss him softly on the cheek.

Alec stood there, with a dazed look on his face. "You're... welcome?" he whispered uselessly to her retreating back.

TBC

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AN/3: yep, Biggs. i know. but... i love the guy, and hated his death on the show.


End file.
